If the statement issued Wednesday by US House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is an indication of how the US House and Senate — both now under Republican leadership — will respond legislatively to the killings in Paris last week, expect expanded authorization and funding for US military action and other intervention the world over.
As news of the killings at the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo was spreading, McCarthy issued the following statement:
I condemn today’s horrific terrorist attack in Paris. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the French people. This terrorist attack, like so many before it, is an assault on fundamental democratic principles that are essential to a free society. It is also a reminder that the war on terrorism is not over, that radical Islamic terrorist organizations have not been defeated, and that they continue to pose a threat at home and abroad. Whether it is ISIL in Iraq and Syria, the Taliban, Haqqani network, and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ansar al Sharia and other terrorists in Libya, Boko Haram in Nigeria, or al Qaeda affiliated groups in Yemen, Somalia, and Mali, free and moderate societies face a growing and determined terrorist enemy. We ignore this gathering danger at our peril. We must recommit to our common efforts against these violent enemies and stand with our friends around the world. For their sake and for our own, we must prevail in this fight against violent extremism.
There you have it: It is the opinion of the number two majority party leader in the House that the killings at Charlie Hebdo mean the US government should “recommit” to fighting its worldwide war on terrorism for the sake of Americans and “our friends around the world.” Indeed, McCarthy includes among the “determined terrorist enemy” the US must recommit to fighting six named and an undefined number of unnamed groups in nine countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
McCarthy fails to mention the risk that the recommitment to the US government’s Global War on Terror he endorses will inspire more blowback and thus decrease Americans’ safety.
